Russell Wilson is ready to cook up some greatness this season, so says one of his Broncos teammates.
As Denver has gotten ready for its season at OTAs this week, left tackle Garrett Bolles said he believes Wilson can get back on track under center.
Bolles, entering his seventh year on the Broncos’ offensive line, has been pleased with the signal caller’s work at practice and added that Wilson looks like he can regain his old form.
“He’s a great dude, he’s the same guy every single day, he works his butt off,” Bolles told reporters Thursday. “And I’m ready for that stuff to go away and when it goes, everyone’s going to eat crow.”
Wilson had plenty of detractors in his first season with the Broncos when the team finished last in the AFC West with a 5-12 record.
The quarterback was in the crosshairs of the critics as he flopped with career lows in both touchdowns (16) and completion percentage (60.5) while throwing 11 interceptions.
He did, however, lead the league in both the number of times he was sacked at 55 and the number of yards he lost because of those sacks (368).
It was a putrid season for the Broncos, who fired first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett before season’s end when the team lost a 51-14 laugher to the Rams on Christmas.
Despite all the chaos and negativity that surrounded Wilson and the team last year, Bolles continued to support his quarterback.
“I think he’s phenomenal,” Bolles said. “We knew who he was as a person, we know who is. … I love him dearly. I think he’s one of the greatest quarterbacks in the game the last 10 years. Stats don’t lie, just because you have one rough season in the last 10 years you can’t dictate what type of guy, his personality, what he goes through.”
Before going to the Broncos in a blockbuster deal where Denver gave up two first-round picks, two second-round picks, a fifth-round pick, quarterback Drew Lock, tight end Noah Fant and defensive lineman Shelby Harris, the Eagles and Commanders both attempted to land the 2014 Super Bowl champion from the Seahawks.
But Wilson ended up in Denver, where he will now play under head coach Sean Payton.
In contrast to all the superlatives given by Bolles, former Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright pondered at the end of May if Wilson could handle Payton’s penchant for grilling underperforming players.
“I heard how he runs his meetings. After a loss, if you played bad, Sean Payton will let you know loud and clear how he feels about you,” Wright said. “And that’s the question, can Russ handle the critiqueness, the harshness, the, ‘Hey, you got to get better and I’m calling you out in front of this entire football team.’
“I’m sure Nathaniel Hackett wasn’t a Sean Payton-type personality.”
Wilson will get his first chance to prove his critics wrong on Sept. 10 in the season opener against the Raiders.